Even if we have talked about this in quite some detail before [click
here]: Your new film American
Mary - in a few words, what is it about?

Sylvia:American
Mary
follows the story
of fallen on hard financial times medical student, played by the
phenomenal Katharine Isabelle [Katharine
Isabelle interview - click here], who is growing disillusioned and
disappointed with medical school and the surgeons she once admired.
A chance encounter sends her into the messy world of underground surgery
and body modification as she comes to many self realizations in a world
where the appearance one puts out to the world takes centre stage.

Jen: It's an unconventional
take on an all too common story. It's an analogy for our own struggles
in the film industry. It's largely a male dominated industry and though
many men don't fixate on gender and age, sexism and ageism run rampant,
and you would be amazed how women are treated by some men in this
industry who accumulate the smallest amount of power. Most of these
people have failed in the industry themselves and cannot stand to see a
young woman succeed where they could not. We've always found acceptance
in what one would call counter culture. The independent and horror
communities have embraced us and believed in us when many have not and
the ones that come off clean cut and "normal", whatever that
means, are more often than not the real monsters. The people in the body
mod community are open and honest. They have nothing to hide.

This might come across like the most moronic question, but
considering you, much like Mary, are attractive young women trying to make
it in what's perceived a male-dominated profession (though it beats me why
you have to be a man to be a surgeon or a movie director), are there any
autobiographical elements in American
Mary?

Sylvia:
There are a lot. When we wrote the script we were still in the process
of trying to get Dead
Hooker in a Trunk out there. Despite having the film
released, we were inexperienced and there wasn't money made on the
production. We were also taking our first steps into the film world and
at a low level, that's where a lot of the wolves are that prey on new
people. Most effectively, we were spending a lot of time in the hospital
with someone we loved very dearly, years of being by her side until her
death. It was a series of helpless situations where we wanted to take
our power back, to be in control. The film itself is angry and sad,
but finds hope in unlikely places much like our own lives. We have
worked for years to be part of the directors' club and found acceptance
and kindness within the horror community. The process of making the film
was one of the most painful and difficult times I have ever had trying
to get a film out and I believe it's because it was so personal. I don't
think I will do that so transparently again for a long time.

Jen: Absolutely. We've found ourselves in many of the situations that
Mary has found herself, although we've always had the benefit of having
one another so we've been able to escape some pretty unsavory
situations. There are so many monsters in this industry that don't just
prey on women, but the young, ambitious, and inexperienced as well. So
many people who claim to be producers or photographers or a variety of
that. They're out there to take advantage. Unfortunately, as much as
this business attracts creative artist types, it also attracts real
assholes. I've never experienced as much sexism and ageism as we did in
our ventures with American
Mary. I thought it was bad, but not as
terrible as we experienced. There are men out there who just categorize
women as "fuckable" or "not fuckable". If a woman
dresses nice and takes care of herself, she's labelled a slut or a
whore. If she dresses down and modestly, she's ugly or a cow. A man can
look any way he wants and it doesn't change how he's treated. It's a
disgusting double standard.

The absolutely insane roles you have given yourselves in American
Mary - now how did you dream up those, and how much fun was it to
play them?

Sylvia:
I loved playing those roles. We started as actresses and found our true
calling behind the scenes, so this was to be our final cameo - it turned
out not to be as we have a couple cameo roles coming up including Ricky
Bates' upcoming Suburban Gothic - but that was the intention. As it
went, a lot of people would meet us and have this expectation of what we
would be like because of the films that we made, so we decided to
play with that. Also, that the Demon Twins of Berlin would be very
self-aware characters, given what they desire to do and the reasons for
it. An April Fools prank on the BME site regarding twin brothers that
swapped limbs was what got me into the subject of body modification, so
it was a bit of a shout out to that as well.

Jen: I loved it! I adore the Demon Twins of Berlin. They are
so liberated. They don't give a shit about anyone or anything, except
one another. They are so true to themselves and open and fully
comfortable with who they are and their place in the world. It was a lot
of fun to act with that mind set. In a lot of ways, they are exaggerated
versions of ourselves. A lot of people have these preconceived notions
of who we are or what we're like. When we meet people, they often say,
"wow, you're so sweet and down to Earth, I thought you'd be really
scary and weird because of your films." I know I am weird, but I do
have manners.

As far as I know, you have done quite a bit of research on
bodymodification prior to filming American
Mary - so what are your personal thoughts on the subject, and
were there any modifications in real life too wild to come off as
believable in your movie?

Sylvia:
I love body modification. There is no group in the world as wrongly
villainized as the members of the mod community. It's a modern day witch
hunt and the fact that our governments will not make it safer to have
people to these procedures is troublesome. I have met countless members
of the community and they are the most self aware, good natured,
and sound minded people. Because of the stigma, they have to be living,
breathing educators to the masses as things that are not mainstream
accepted have become under constant scrutiny in the media. In the
film, there are two bullshit mods - the girl with the heart nipples,
it's most commonly done as a tattoo, I just loved the look of it, and
the limb swap - although it is in its infancy stages in Europe, it takes
about a team of forty to get the procedure right and many of the
transplants are rejected.

Jen: I love body
modification. I think it's beautiful and freeing and a wonderful form of
self expression. I don't really understand why cosmetic surgery is fully
embraced and accepted in our society and largely in American culture,
but body modification is frowned on and seen as the behavior of someone
mentally unstable. The only difference I see is that those in the body
mod community are getting their alterations done purely for themselves,
whereas cosmetic surgery is in the pursuit of trying to fit into the
ideal of what society deems is beautiful. I feel people need to decide
what is beautiful for themselves and not try to fit into some cookie
cutter ideal. Beauty comes in all forms and all body types. To limit
yourself to one look is boring and I hate to think anyone would want to
change themselves to fit in. We should strive to stand out.

I couldn't help but notice
that concerning the subject of American
Mary, your approach to the gorier aspects of the story was
relatively restrained - and knowing you're not exactly girls who faint at
the sight of blood, why was that, and did you sometimes feel the urge to
just go all slaughterhouse?

Sylvia: When
pitching the film, the resistance we got time and time again was that the
subject matter was 'too ugly' for cinema. We realized that not only does
the story have to show a different side to this world, but appearance in
every aspect had to be at the forefront of the story telling. We decided
to make this the most beautiful film imaginable and thanks to our director
of photography, Brian Pearson, our art director, Tony Devenyi, our costume
designer, Enigma Arcana, and the prosthetic and makeup of MastersFX we
were able to achieve that. I think gore is like a spice - the only crime
is to use it as a band-aid for not having what you need to tell the story.
Where you see blood and gore, we wanted it there. It was as meticulous and
controlled as the lead character herself.

Jen: We
wanted to treat the subject matter as respectfully as possible and leave
the true horror and disgust for the reality. The party scene for me is the
most difficult to watch. You follow Mary throughout the film. You see the
world through her eyes. If we've achieved our goal, you hurt when she
hurts. You live alongside her for her triumphs and her pain. When she gets
her revenge, it's not scary and couldn't be because we are on her side.
She, herself, is so reserved. She so cleverly masks her true feelings with
her pristine appearance. Her make up is her war paint, her clothes are her
armor. She never lets anyone see any breaks in her exterior, until we see
that private moment where she loses it on the security guard.

Part of your film is set in
a strip club - what do you think made exactly that setting perfect for
your story?

Sylvia:
When I hit nineteen, I spent way too much time in strip clubs. It's a
different world. There's the surface level that everyone sees and
then there's something else that goes on below that you can catch
glimpses of if you spend enough time there or meet certain people. It
played into the world of surface appearances, so it was fun for us to
make that one of the locations. We always try to bring interesting
locations to our films, you don't want any part forgettable or boring.

Jen: The tag line to the film is "appearances are
everything". What something appears to be is rarely what something
actually as. It's that whole "you can't judge a book by its
cover" thing. Aside from the obvious aesthetic beauty of the
location and lighting possibilities, it worked as a place where a shady
character like Billy could do his business dealings away from the public
eye. There are also a series of preconceived notions about the kind of
person who would perform or work at such an establishment and we wanted
to further shatter those with the character of Beatress. She is a very
sweet and genuine person. She loves her girlfriend Ruby and would do
anything to make her feel happy and complete. She also decides she likes
Mary early on and like a cat does with someone who's allergic, just
keeps at her until she starts to let her in a little. We really wanted
to tear down the assumptions that people make about others and the world
around them. If you just look past the surface, you have no idea what
you'll uncover.

What can you tell us about critical and
audience response to American
Mary so far?

Sylvia:
It has been overwhelming. The success of the film is due to the horror
community's incredible support. The film has won countless awards, has
brought us across the world with it, and has brought us into the
directors' club that we so desperately wanted to be a part of. A
lot of people say they can offer 'the American
Mary experience' to
people, but the truth is that the focused filmmaker can do this. Jen and
I spent years online asking people to watch our work, sharing every
article written, and thanking people for taking the time to share their
thoughts. I know it sounds simple, but no one is going to give you a
twenty million dollar marketing budget for your film, but you can hit
social media, be interactive with the people who are making it possible
for you to make more films, and above all - this career is a privilege
- treat it that way and be respectful to others and you will go so far.
Look at Jessica Cameron's directorial debut with Truth or Dare - she's a
brilliant filmmaker and people know about her film because she gets it
out there and she's a class act in every sense of the word [Jessica
Cameron interview - click here].

Jen: The fans have been amazing. We admittedly did not make this film
for everyone. People will not get the film and people who are anything
like the misogynists we've had to work with will actually hate it. And
that's fine by us. We made it for the body mod community. For any woman
who has ever struggled to get ahead in a place where she just wasn't
wanted or could ever be seen as an equal due to her age and gender. It's
for anyone who has ever felt like an outcast or like they were alone or
didn't fit in. We made it for people who need to see the film. Critics
have been incredibly supportive in the film. I think Europe, Australia,
and Canada really got it. The US is pretty much split down the middle as
far as responses go, which was to be expected. If you're an artist and
not pissing someone off, you're doing something wrong.

As far as I know, American
Mary was picked up by industry giant Universal
for European distribution - now how did that happen?

Sylvia: A
Cannes Film Festival miracle, ha. Jen and I were so bummed that we had to
spend a small fortune to bring ourselves over. I got a call that Universal
would like to meet with us and got to sit down with Mike Hewitt and Amit
Dey - two men that forever changed my life. We spoke about the film, they
really enjoyed it and, more importantly, they understood it and knew how
to get it out there. I remember leaving the meeting in the pouring rain
and I couldn't stop smiling. I knew our lives would never be the same, I
didn't know til later that the deal was happening. Mike is also the man
who first brought A Serbian Film to people. He's an incredible man, he
went above and beyond for our world premiere at Fright Fest and invited
many members of the mod community to be in attendance in the 1400 seat
theatre - when we saw the Universal
logo before the film, we all teared up
- and then Fright Fest was kind enough to bring the film on a theatrical
run across the UK with Mike. A lot of people have a bad perception of big
studios and they are wrong. There are people with a lot of heart and
passion like Mike and the UK Universal
team working there because they
love film and it's because of those people I have a lot of faith in the
future of film.

Jen: Mike
Hewitt and Amit Dey. Two brilliant men with their fingers on the pulse of
what's actually going on in the industry and that aren't afraid to take a
risk.

You have recently shot See No Evil 2 - now how did
that one come about, and what drew you to the project?

Sylvia: After American
Mary, everyone we talked to wanted the same thing again - like
literally Katie starring as a sexy surgeon or something close to a surgeon
in the same or a very similar storyline. We don't want to repeat ourselves
- actually, our goal is to make a film in every sub-genre of horror - and
so we passed on a lot of work. We had just come back from a trip and one
of our wonderful agents, Chris Ridenhour from APA, had a script he wanted
us to read immediately. The script was See No Evil 2. It was totally
different, but we had the opportunity to bring our own style to it. Not to
mention, we are huge WWE fans. There was a part in the script that Jen and
I both stepped back from our laptops and said we have to do this, but we
didn't think it would happen. It was too cool a script, too cool an
opportunity, and something we wanted so badly, so we didn't think it would
happen. We talked to WWE studios and LGF on the phone for about twenty
minutes where we discussed our ideas for the film and fangirled about how
much we love what they are doing. I think the last thing I said was that
they have a great project here and even if we don't get the job, we cannot
wait to see it. In two days, we found out that we were hired. One of the
best moments of my life.

Jen:
Sylv and I are actually WWE fans from way back. We started watching as the
Kane storyline was building up and were actually watching Bad Blood's Hell
In A Cell match when Kane made his debut. We have long admired the WWE and
have, like everyone, wanted to get in the ring as far back as we can
remember. There is nothing in this world like the WWE. They know
entertainment better than any other organization in the world. They have
withstood the testament of time and just keep getting bigger, badder,
and better. We wanted to be a part of that. That year that Kane first
entered the WWE was 1997, the very same year that Lionsgate started up in
Vancouver. I remember every time we went by the studio that a
silently swore that one day I'd work for them. With See No Evil 2 we had
the chance to work with not one, but two phenomenal powerhouses that we've
long respected, loved, and admired. And the chance to work with one of our
favorite WWE Superstars of all time? Just, wow.

the Soska twins with Kane

See
No Evil 2 stars wrestler Kane - so what was it like working with him,
and are you into wrestling in your private lives?

Sylvia: Here's
the funny thing. Jen and I started watching WWF when Kane's character was
just being set up for an introduction. It was a heated rivalry between Jen
and me because she is a diehard Undertaker fan and I was pretty in love
with the Heartbreak Kid and they were feuding. I will never forget Shawn
Michaels getting his ass handed to him and then in comes Paul Bearer with
Kane - that must be KANE!!! - at Hell in a Cell. We were so nervous to
meet Glenn. We are fan directors and it's how we approach our work - what
do we, the audience, want to see happen. I will say I was a hug fan of
Kane when we got this project, now I am an even bigger fan of Glenn
Jacobs. I learned so much from working with him, the film was important
and he brought the calibre to an entirely different level, and he was cool
enough to even show me some wrestling moves. So, be afraid, I have minor
wrestling skills from Kane. I'm a force to be reckoned with now!

Jen: We LOVE
it! Admittedly we don't get much down time doing what we do and we rarely
watch TV. I can now tell you that we've gotten back into watching Monday
Night RAW, 3 hours of WWE bliss, and let me tell you, it's only gotten
better. It was like coming home after being away for so long. At some
point in everyone's life, they have been a WWE fan and let me tell you,
that never goes away. We are all WWE fans and if you haven't treated
yourself to a watch for a while, it's time to come back. It was absolutely
incredible working with Glenn. Let me tell you, going in, I was a Kane
fan. Coming out, I was and am a Glenn Jacobs fan.

Any other future projects you'd like to share?

Sylvia:
February is fast approaching, so we will be releasing our annual Massive
Blood Drive in conjunction with Women In Horror Recognition Month. We've
been blessed with meeting some incredible talented women across the globe,
so we invited some of our favourites - Hannah Neurotica (the woman who
started WiH), Isabel Peppard (Butterflies), Maude Michaud (Red), Patricia
Chica (Ceramic Tango), and Jessica Cameron (Truth or Dare) [Jessica
Cameron interview - click here] - to create
short films that will create this year's PSA. They are so talented and we
are big fans of their work - our goal is to encourage people to take time
to donate blood but we also wanted to make people aware of these
filmmakers' style and work.

Jen: It's
hard to say what we have coming out next. We have so many opportunities
right now that we are so blessed to have. We have a pile of scripts and
write so fast it's unfair, ha ha. We have See No Evil 2 coming out later
this year along with ABCs of Death 2 and will be traveling as much as we
possibly can to promote both. We just love getting to travel and meet the
people who support us and then hug the holy hell out of them. We have so
many things in numerous stages of development. We're honored to be a part
of XX, an all female horror anthology alongside women we respect
immensely. Mary Harron, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Karyn Kusama, and Jovanka
Vuckovic. It's a dream come true and I really feel we are making history
with this collaborative piece.

Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?

Sylvia:
Our website is twistedtwinsproductions.net
and it's under construction, really out of date sadly, but we are very
active on Facebook - there's
a page for us and ones for all of our films, as well as @twisted_twins
on Twitter and Jen is a diehard tumblr. You can also find us on
@twistdtwinsarmy on Twitter and twistdtwinsarmy on Instagram.

Jen: What
she said, ha ha. Tumblr is by far the best way to ask us stuff and I like
to respond with GIFs and thoughtfulness, ha ha. If you can't find us
online, you're not looking, my dears.

Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

Sylvia:
We are going to be touring a lot this year to meet people and deliver our
brand of horror and hugs - you can catch us in Vancouver, Knoxville,
Dallas, Indianapolis, San Diego, Calgary, and Toronto - hit us up
online to get the details and hope to meet you there! We never get out, so
this is pretty cool for us.

Jen: No, this has been wonderful! Thank you so much for taking the time to
speak with us. It's been a pleasure! And a massive thank you to all the
people who have been supporting us and our work. I hope we get to meet
this year! Please come out and see us and get you hugs!